Haulier offers reward for arsonists’ capture
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By Roger Brown
THE BOSS OF construction haulier Thomas Bros Excavation (Luton) has offered a £10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspected arsonists who caused an estimated £1.5m worth of damage in his yard.
The incident is the third suspected arson attack on a haulage irm in as many months, leaving some hauliers ighting for survival, while in April Brian F Curran Haulage was wound-up by HMRC after it struggled to turn around its fortunes following an arson attack in January 2009.
This ire, believed to have been started deliberately on 30 May at the company’s facility in Beadlow, Bedfordshire, destroyed 16 trucks and a tank of diesel. Thomas Bros is authorised to run 25 vehicles and 35 trailers. Director Andrew Burton says: “This incident has affected my family, my staff and my friends. Seeing this amount of destruction has shocked me to the core and made me wonder why somebody would want to do this.
“But I am determined my business will recover and be back to normal very quickly,” he insists.
Burton says he has been moved by the “fantastic support” he has received from his employees and customers. “My staff are amazing and have been working hard to help us get back on track. The help I have been receiving from similar businesses to mine, my bank and other organisations, makes me realise there are some wonderful people out there,” he adds.
Detective Constable Amanda Durrant from Bedfordshire Police says: “Somebody has deliberately set ire to this property and caused a colossal amount of damage.
“We are treating the matter as arson and a full investigation is under way.” No one was on the site at the time, and ire ighters spent several hours bringing it under control.
Anyone with information should call DC Durrant at Dunstable CID on 01582 473325 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.